In Depth

In its decision ordering summary judgment be entered in favor of the Brownsburg Chamber of Commerce in a lawsuit involving
damages to a former employee, the Indiana Court of Appeals adopted the proposition that damages for breach of notice provisions
are limited to compensation for the notice period.

In Walter B. Duncan v. The Greater Brownsburg Chamber of Commerce, Inc., No. 32A01-1109-CC-429,
Walter Duncan sued the Greater Brownsburg Chamber of Commerce over the amount of damages he received after he was forced to
resign as executive director in March 2010. The chamber’s board of directors voted to terminate his contract immediately,
but Duncan was given the option of resigning. Per his resignation, he was to work one more week and take a three-week paid
vacation. His daily salary was $138, so he was due just under $15,000 for working through April 18, one month after he submitted
his resignation letter. The chamber paid more than $15,500 to him in 2010.

Duncan sued later that year, arguing he should have been due damages from the date of the alleged breach through the term
of the contract. Both Duncan and the chamber filed for summary judgment. The chamber’s argument basically asks the appellate
court to adopt the general proposition that damages for breach of a notice requirement are limited to the compensation for
the notice period.

The COA did, adopting the majority rule that “the summary discharge of an employee entitled under the employment contract
to a specified period of notice ordinarily permits him to recover his compensation for the notice period only and not for
the entire balance of the contract period.” This is consistent with decisions from other jurisdictions.

Here, the contract required a 30-day written notice to the other party before canceling the employment agreement. The most
that Duncan was entitled to recover then was 30 days compensation. He received more than what he was entitled to, so the appellate
court declined to address whether the chamber actually breached the notice requirement. The judges ordered the trial court
enter summary judgment in favor of the chamber.

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